Recommend a NAS media HDD

Keedowah

Hi,

Looking to get an external hdd for playing my media on my tv. What i'd like is for it to have HDMI, component connection if possible.

Would like to have networkable. USB interface would be ok - but would much prefer a lan connection. If USB was the only option then size would matter but i think around 320 would suit.

So - anyone have something similar and would recommend it? Aany advice appreciated - thanks!

K

keith_d99

Would highly recommend this:

www.popcornhour.com

Features:
NAS
HDMI output - plays all sorts of files - including mkv and bluray rips
Has youtube, google videos etc.
Has Bit Torrent Client too (if you install a internal hard drive)
YOu can play off usb drives
Monthly firmware updates
Contains same sigma chip found in a Blu-Ray player

All for about €150 (excluding hard drive, including customs)
A similar piece of hardware elsewhere is easily double that price

Any questions, let me know!

kmick

Im not sure such a thing exists. As far as I know from my limited knowledge you would need something which would stream to your laptop and then you would output that via HDMI to the TV. This was assuming your media was HD in the first place, your laptop had a HDMI output, and your tv had a HDMI input.

I have this and it works pretty well as anetwork drive.
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=327810

You can put one or two drives in it and upgrade it via custome hack to be a server. Check out the info here.
http://wiki.dns323.info/

I have mine set up with RAID with two 500Gb disks with all my media on it and it will stream to my laptop. Also I dont think USB2 is fast enough to stream HD firewire at a minimum.

Keedowah

keith_d99, i've seen that mentioned before - do you have one? Does it work as people say it does?

keith_d99

I do indeed - one of my finest gadget purchases!

I was looking for something for a long time - there are a lot of things out there - but was always worried about buying something which has a low user base, and is poorly supported.

Stumbled across the Popcorn Hour - there used to be a 2 month waiting list just to order, but they take orders instantly now. People used even sell the invites to order on eBay for mad money?!

HD quality is amazing (Had never seen HD on my plasma before this).
I love the torrent client on it - no need to have pc/laptop running to download

Even plays DVD rips (with full menu functionality)

Plays absolutely everything you throw at it.
There can be a few bugs with it - but firmware updates are regular! And the product is very stable now.
Great community of users out there as well - so this product is around for a while - and the price is excellent value!!!

Only problem is keeping within my ISP monthly download limit!

Keedowah wrote: »

keith_d99, i've seen that mentioned before - do you have one? Does it work as people say it does?

Keedowah

Sounds perfect then.

What size HDD did you put into yours? Do they come in from USA do you know? And do you know what the waiting time for them is now?

Thanks a mill!

keith_d99

I put a 2.5 inch 250gb drive with a 3.5 inch adapter
I did this for a quieter drive, low power consumption, and the fact that there is no cooling fan in the device.

There is no wait time now to order, and they release shipments in batches every couple of weeks.

The package comes from China, although the company are based in California

I would say that you do need to be a little tech savvy - installing internal hard drive, mapping network drive to device etc.
You can also upload torrent files to it via a web interface from a networked pc

Keedowah wrote: »

Sounds perfect then.

What size HDD did you put into yours? Do they come in from USA do you know? And do you know what the waiting time for them is now?

Thanks a mill!

Keedowah

Keith - I got one of these a couple of months ago (after you recommended them). What a class player - and its only today that i got around to putting a hard drive into it. I too went for a 2.5" drive - up until now i was using my memory stick or external HDD with no problem.

I see they have a new version out now that supports SATA and the 2.5" drive out of the box.

Thanks for your advice!

keith_d99

No worries Keedowah - glad it has worked out for you!
You will have access to the Bit Torrent app now - very handy that!

Keedowah wrote: »

Keith - I got one of these a couple of months ago (after you recommended them). What a class player - and its only today that i got around to putting a hard drive into it. I too went for a 2.5" drive - up until now i was using my memory stick or external HDD with no problem.

I see they have a new version out now that supports SATA and the 2.5" drive out of the box.

Thanks for your advice!

Jonathan

Any one have any recommendations for a NAS box (€100 max) with:

• WebUI for admin
• FTP
• NTFS/ext2/ext3 support (Doesnt care which one. I just want support for files over 4gb)
• Power management (spin down disks etc)
• USB2.0
• eSATA (not essential but would be nice)

EDIT: This seems to be a good option. Any better alternatives?

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

keith_d99

Western Digital Scorpio 250GB 5400RPM IDE ATA/100 2,5"

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=338764

Have this - and no problems at all

daveirl wrote: »

Can someone recommend me a 2.5" drive to stick in the Popcorn Hour?

flogen

That looks like a fantastic piece of kit... only downside is the lack of WiFi, would really round it off.

Is there only space inside for one SATA drive? Not a big deal as you can attach another one externally if you're really stuck, but just out of curiosity.

keith_d99

There is a wifi dongle available for it

flogen wrote: »

That looks like a fantastic piece of kit... only downside is the lack of WiFi, would really round it off.

Is there only space inside for one SATA drive? Not a big deal as you can attach another one externally if you're really stuck, but just out of curiosity.

Lump

Pinnacle Showcentre will stream from a PC to your TV, via wireless - It's not got a harddrive in it, but streams from a PC connected to the network - I've had one for years it's great.

flogen

keith_d99 wrote: »

There is a wifi dongle available for it

Would it work with any WiFi dongle or just a certain one of their own?

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

keith_d99

No worries - had hassle myself getting the drive fitted

You need something like this:
http://www.misco.ie/productinformation/~110821~WW~/2.5%20%20to%203.5%20%20IDE%20hard%20drive%20cable%20adapter.htm

You can also get them on eBay or Maplin I am sure if you are in a hurry

You need one of these plus the drive fitting that is included

daveirl wrote: »

Where did you get an adapter to fit it. Sorry for the stupid questions, thought I had bought the right adapter but I hadn't!